Do we still have a long way to go in public attitudes towards #breastfeeding?
We've come along way in normalizing breastfeeding. Mainstream stances trend towards acceptance. However, data from a recent survey from The Center for Disease Control (CDC) indicates there's still work to be done.
About 58% of respondents feel comfortable with mothers breastfeeding their babies nearby in public. Seeing breastfeeding in action can make some people uncomfortable. I get it. People who haven't seen breastfeeding much can get a little uneasy. I believe the more we encounter something, the more comfortable we become. The best thing moms can do to change public attitude is to breastfeed in public.
On the question of weather women should have the right to breastfeed in public, about 64% agree. This number should be higher. Women should have the right to feed her baby where every she is legally allowed to be. Laws on the subject vary from state to state. All states (except West Virginia) protect a mother's right to breastfeed in any public or private location.
Nearly 70% of respondants agree that there should be paid materinty leave for workers. Less than half (47%) believe employers should provide extended leave to make it easier to breastfeed. Also less than half (41%) would finacial support incentives for employers to make special accommodatoins for breastfeeding mothers.
More than half the respondents agree: women should be encoraged to breastfeed, and public buildings need a room where women can nurse and pump. Find more complete data on CDCs website.
Mainstream views on breastfeeding have improved over the years, but we still have a ways to go. I hope people become as comfortable with breastfeeding as they are with bottle feeding. The more people see women breastfeeding in public, the more normal it becomes. Women should, of course, do what is most comfortable for themselves and their babies. The last thing a woman should feel is ashamed--whether she's bottle feeding, breastfeeding under a cover, or whipping out her boob.
Leave a comment. What are your attitudes about breastfeeding?
